In a pioneering study that sounds straight out of a science fiction novel, researchers from California startup REMspace have successfully demonstrated two-way control of a virtual object by individuals in the midst of a lucid dream. This groundbreaking experiment, which involved five participants, revealed that people can not only control virtual environments in their dreams but also respond to feedback within those dreams, marking a significant step towards the realization of productive or therapeutic activities during sleep.
在一项听起来像是科幻小说中场景的开创性研究中，来自加利福尼亚州初创公司 REMspace 的研究人员成功地展示了在清醒梦境中的人对虚拟物体的双向控制。这项突破性的实验涉及五名参与者，结果表明，人们不仅可以控制梦境中的虚拟环境，还可以对梦境中的反馈做出反应，这标志着在睡眠期间实现生产性或治疗性活动迈出了重要一步。
The study has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Dream Research.
这项研究已被《国际梦境研究杂志》接受发表。
Lucid dreaming, the phenomenon where dreamers become aware that they are dreaming and can sometimes control their dreams, has fascinated scientists and the public alike for decades. The term was first coined in 1913 by Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden, but it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that lucid dreaming was verified in laboratory conditions.
清醒梦，即梦者意识到自己在做梦并有时可以控制自己的梦境，几十年来一直吸引着科学家和公众的关注。该术语最早由荷兰精神科医生弗雷德里克·范·伊登 (Frederik van Eeden) 于 1913 年提出，但直到 20 世纪中叶，清醒梦才在实验室条件下得到证实。
Since then, the interest in lucid dreaming has skyrocketed, with research expanding into how these dream states can affect waking life, from improving mental health to enhancing problem-solving skills. The team at REMspace was motivated by the potential to harness the untapped hours we spend asleep, envisioning a future where people can interact with computers or solve tasks in their dreams, much like scenes from the movie “Inception.”
从那时起，人们对清醒梦的兴趣激增，研究范围扩展到这些梦境状态如何影响清醒生活，从改善心理健康到增强解决问题的能力。REMspace 团队的动力在于利用我们睡眠中未被开发的宝贵时间，设想未来人们可以在梦中与计算机互动或解决任务，就像电影《盗梦空间》中的场景一样。
The researchers have previously demonstrated that lucid dreamers can potentially transmit musical melodies from their dreams to reality in real time. In their new study, they focused on expanding the scope of communication between the dream state and the waking world by exploring the ability of lucid dreamers to engage in complex problem-solving tasks while dreaming.
研究人员此前已经证明清醒梦者可以实时地将音乐旋律从梦境传输到现实。在他们的新研究中，他们专注于扩大梦境状态与清醒世界之间沟通的范围，探索清醒梦者在做梦时进行复杂问题解决任务的能力。
“We all live in two realms, physical reality and dreams. I think it’s time to connect these two worlds together. Experiments like this demonstrate that it is possible. As the first step, we needed to see it by ourselves,” said Michael Raduga, the lead author of the study and CEO of REMspace.
“我们都生活在两个领域，现实世界和梦境。我认为是时候将这两个世界连接起来了。像这样的实验表明这是可能的。作为第一步，我们需要亲眼见证，”该研究的主要作者兼REMspace首席执行官迈克尔·拉杜加 (Michael Raduga) 说。
The study involved five participants, all experienced in lucid dreaming techniques, including two of the study’s authors. These individuals were chosen for their ability to enter and control their dream states consciously. The experiment required participants to spend one to four nights in a sleep lab. Here, they were outfitted with electrodes that measured muscle activity (electromyography or EMG) and devices that could transmit light signals.
这项研究涉及五名参与者，他们都精通清醒梦技术，其中包括两位研究作者。选择这些参与者是因为他们能够有意识地进入和控制他们的梦境状态。实验要求参与者在一个睡眠实验室里待一到四个晚上。在那里，他们配备了测量肌肉活动（肌电图或 EMG）的电极和可以传输光信号的设备。
Initially, participants were trained while awake to control a virtual car (a Tesla Cybertruck) by tensing their muscles—a contraction of the biceps or forearm muscles would steer the car, while tensing the quadriceps would drive it forward. The car’s virtual environment included obstacles, which, when encountered, triggered light signals through diodes. These signals, tailored to each participant’s sensitivity, were designed to be perceivable even with closed eyes, instructing the dreamer to turn the car away from obstacles.
最初，参与者在清醒状态下接受训练，通过收紧肌肉来控制一辆虚拟汽车（特斯拉 Cybertruck）——收缩二头肌或前臂肌肉会转向汽车，而收紧股四头肌会向前行驶。汽车的虚拟环境中包含障碍物，遇到障碍物时，会通过二极管触发光信号。这些信号根据每个参与者的敏感度进行调整，即使闭上眼睛也能感知，指示梦者将汽车转向远离障碍物。
Once asleep, the real challenge began. The participants aimed to replicate this control within their lucid dreams. Upon successfully entering a lucid dream—verified by a series of pre-agreed eye movements to signal consciousness within the dream—they attempted to navigate the virtual car, responding to obstacles as they had trained. The dreamers’ muscle movements, picked up by the EMG sensors, were translated into movements of the virtual car on a screen, observed in real-time by the research team.
一旦睡着，真正的挑战就开始了。参与者试图在他们的清醒梦中复制这种控制。成功进入清醒梦后——通过一系列预先约定好的眼动来表示梦境中的意识——他们试图驾驶虚拟汽车，就像他们训练的那样应对障碍物。梦者的肌肉运动由 EMG 传感器捕捉，并被转换成虚拟汽车在屏幕上的运动，研究团队实时观察。
Over the course of the study, the participants induced 18 lucid dreams, with attempts to control the virtual car made in 12 of these instances. Despite some technical hiccups, the researchers recorded 12 successful moves and 28 appropriate turns in response to obstacles within the virtual environment.
在研究过程中，参与者诱发了 18 个清醒梦，其中 12 次尝试控制虚拟汽车。尽管出现了一些技术故障，但研究人员记录了 12 次成功的移动和 28 次对虚拟环境中障碍物的适当转向。
Detailed accounts from the participants revealed varied experiences, with some managing straightforward navigation and others facing challenges such as malfunctioning equipment or difficulty in generating detectable muscle signals. Despite these hurdles, the study confirmed the feasibility of two-way interaction within lucid dreams, opening up new avenues for exploration in dream control and its applications.
参与者的详细描述揭示了不同的体验，一些人能够轻松地导航，而另一些人则面临着设备故障或难以产生可检测的肌肉信号等挑战。尽管存在这些障碍，但研究证实了在清醒梦中进行双向互动的可行性，为探索梦境控制及其应用开辟了新的途径。
“The most exciting part of the experiment is that almost all lucid dreamers could do this (if they could fall asleep with all the cords, etc.). All we need is to build more convenient tech, and everybody could use it for different goals,” Raduga told PsyPost.
“实验最令人兴奋的部分是几乎所有清醒梦者都能做到这一点（如果他们能够带着所有电线等入睡的话）。我们只需要制造更方便的技术，每个人都可以将其用于不同的目标，”拉杜加告诉 PsyPost。
However, the study was not without its limitations. Participants sometimes struggled to send strong enough EMG signals from within the dream state, likely due to the natural muscle paralysis that occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the sleep stage most associated with vivid dreaming. Additionally, technical issues with sensor sensitivity and placement occasionally hindered the experiment’s success. Moreover, ensuring that feedback signals (like the light indicating an obstacle) were detectable without waking the participant proved challenging.
然而，这项研究并非没有局限性。参与者有时难以从梦境状态中发出足够强的 EMG 信号，这可能是由于快速眼动 (REM) 睡眠期间发生的自然肌肉瘫痪造成的，快速眼动睡眠是与生动梦境最相关的睡眠阶段。此外，传感器灵敏度和放置的技术问题偶尔会阻碍实验的成功。此外，确保反馈信号（例如指示障碍物的灯光）在不唤醒参与者的前提下可检测也具有挑战性。
Looking to the future, the REMspace team envisions a broad spectrum of applications for their findings. Beyond the realm of entertainment, the ability to interact with technology during lucid dreams could have therapeutic benefits, such as treating phobias or enhancing learning. The study lays the groundwork for more ambitious endeavors.
展望未来，REMspace 团队设想其研究结果将有广泛的应用。除了娱乐领域之外，在清醒梦中与技术互动能力还可以带来治疗益处，例如治疗恐惧症或增强学习能力。这项研究为更雄心勃勃的努力奠定了基础。
“The primary goal was to build this technology, create a proof of concept, and test it,” Raduga explained. “What for? We have a huge list of how we could use it with further developments. Now we are ready for even more advanced leaps forward.”
“主要目标是构建这项技术，创建一个概念验证，并对其进行测试，”拉杜加解释道。“为了什么？我们有一个巨大的清单，说明我们如何在进一步发展中使用它。现在我们已经准备好迈出更先进的飞跃了。”
“For example, now we can connect dreamers with real physical objects and tech. We can change settings of different gadgets from within a dream, which is very important if we talk about gadgets that help to get into lucid dreams. Now it looks possible to connect to the Internet from dreams as well. And each of these opportunities has many perspectives by its own.”
“例如，现在我们可以将梦者与真实的物理物体和技术连接起来。我们可以从梦中改变不同设备的设置，如果我们谈论的是有助于进入清醒梦的设备，这一点非常重要。现在看来，从梦中连接到互联网也是可能的。而每一个机会都有其自身的许多视角。”
“Though many researchers were aware that two-way communication from dreams with computers was possible in theory, all other people had no idea that it could go so far,” Raduga added. “There was no technology to demonstrate this lucid dreaming application. So, one of the goals was to demonstrate this two-way communication in general.”
“虽然许多研究人员意识到从梦境到计算机的双向通信在理论上是可能的，但其他人根本不知道它能发展到如此程度，”拉杜加补充道。“没有技术来证明这种清醒梦的应用。因此，目标之一是普遍地证明这种双向通信。”
The study, “Two-way control of a virtual avatar from lucid dreams“, was authored by Michael Raduga, Andrey Shashkov, and Andrey Vanin.
这项研究，“从清醒梦中双向控制虚拟化身”，由迈克尔·拉杜加 (Michael Raduga)、安德烈·沙什科夫 (Andrey Shashkov) 和安德烈·瓦宁 (Andrey Vanin) 撰写。
